AMHERST, MA – The Amherst College softball team moved into the driver's seat with an 8-4 win over Williams College Friday afternoon, giving the Lord Jeffs a one-game lead over the Ephs heading into the final day of the NESCAC West season.
With the game tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the third inning, Katie Kervick '11 (Windsor Locks, CT) crushed a towering three-run homer off the scoreboard in left field to give the Jeffs a lead they would not relinquish. Theresa Kelley '13 (Los Angeles, CA) struck out 10 batters in a complete-game effort, allowing only two earned runs on seven hits.
The two teams will begin a doubleheader Saturday at 12 p.m. in Williamstown, with Amherst (14-14, 6-4 NESCAC West) needing only one victory to clinch their first postseason berth since 2006. The Ephs (17-15-1, 5-5) will need to take two from their archrivals in order to qualify for their 11th consecutive NESCAC Championship.
The Ephs held a 7-5 edge in hits on the day, but Amherst took advantage of seven walks, two Williams errors and timely hitting. Kaitlin Silkowitz '14 (Scarsdale, NY) went 2-for-4 and scored two runs for the hosts, while Jillian Masi '11 (Stamford, CT) was 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored.
The Ephs took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning when Merrilee Weston '13 sent a single through the left side of the infield to score Cedar Blazek '13, who had walked. Williams made it a 3-0 game in the third when Ally Ensor laced an RBI-double to center and Ali Graebner '14 delivered a run-scoring single to left.
Williams starting pitcher Megan Casey '13 was in cruise control early on, as she was working with a no-hitter until Silkowitz reached base on a bunt in the bottom of the third. The floodgates then opened up for the Jeffs, who got on the board when Annemarie Iker '12 (Mill Valley, CA) walked with the bases loaded. Christina Anderson '13 (Port St. Lucie, FL) followed with a bases-loaded walk of her own after a stellar nine-pitch at-bat, bringing the score to 3-2 in favor of the visitors.
Kelley kept the rally going in the third when she scored the tying run on a wild pitch, and Kervick soon put her team ahead with a three-run blast that reached the scoreboard. Arielle Doering '14 (Branchburg, NJ) followed with a single to center, which chased Casey from the game.
Amherst made it a 7-3 game by taking advantage of a throwing error in the bottom of the fourth, but the Ephs would get that one back in the top of the fifth when Ensor belted a solo homer over the fence in right center. The game's final run came in the bottom of the sixth, as Masi led off with a triple—her fourth of the season—and scored on another Williams fielding error, bringing the final tally to 8-4.
Kelley picked up the win to improve to 9-11, while Casey dropped to 6-8 after surrendering six earned runs on three hits and five walks in 2.2 innings. Alyssa Quann '14 allowed two unearned runs on two hits in 2.1 innings of relief, while Kaitlin Dinet '13 recorded the final three outs for the Ephs.
Williams was led at the plate by Ensor, who finished at 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a pair of RBIs. Graebner was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Kervick and Masi were honored before the game as part of Amherst's Senior Day. Kervick has hit safely in five of her past seven games and has gone yard in each of Amherst's past three NESCAC West series, while Masi is among the conference's leaders in triples.
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